1971 Dodge Sportsman van

[RACINE ISHRAQUR RAZA]

Completely restored MPC 1971 Dodge Sportsman Van. When I got it in the mail it was this brush painted two tone blue van. I've included photos of what it looked like before I did all the work to it. It needed a new windshield as the original was cracked. I got a windshield from a reproduction MPC '82 Dodge van kit. I'm not sure if those four spoke wheels that came with the blue painted van are the original wheels from the '71 Dodge van kit, so I installed those on another van model. I replaced those four spokes with wheel covers and white wall tires from the MPC '82 Dodge van kit. There was that sharp pin the original owner literally put through the floor to simulate stick shift and so I removed that hazardous object. The sharp end of the pin was protruding from the floor when I dismantled it. Also the strong glue from the 1970s melted different areas of the body so I had to fix with Bondo and a lot of sanding.

Did a lot of work to the interior of my Dodge Sportsman van interior and I painted over the previous black and green paint applied by the original builder. I removed the seats but the supports broke so I carefully superglued the supports for each seats. That took a while, but was worth it. I painted the interior tub Copper and then I epoxied a piece of felt to the floor of the interior tub. Detailed the sides using a toothpick and some brown paint to simulate wood trim. The body was painted with Tamiya TS92 Metallic Orange and TS46 Light Sand spray paint that was later buffed with Meguiar's carnauba wax. The floor and drivetrain retains the paint applied by the original owner five decades ago. I touched up some missed areas with a toothpick and a qtip cotton swab plus some paint from a few containers. Now this old van is ready to cruise.

[shoopdog]

What a great transformation!

[kelson]

Nice save and restoration!!,i have a number of the 71/72 vans,but finding the right color combo has stopped me from building one,but i saw a diecast in a green/white combo that really caught my eye.?

[ChrisR]

Great save!

[ncbuckeye67]

Excellent restoration! I love to see old kits restored into something beautiful.

Edited October 15, 2024 by ncbuckeye67

[Chinacar]

Nice restoration of a suburban limousine. I travelled to school in one everyday for a few years. Great rendition.

[oldcarfan]

Great save!

[RACINE ISHRAQUR RAZA]

Thank you everyone for the compliment! Much appreciated!

@ChinacarI love the name 'Suburban Limousine'

@kelsonYou're lucky to have many of those hard to find old Dodge vans and I look forward to see your build when you complete one.

[XYHARRY]

Excellent save there Racine, your colour combo choice really fits this era suburban. Well done. 

Cheers, 

David. ??

[slusher]

Beautiful Dodge Van!